The Crucible

The Crucible (, or Hexenjagd) is a 1957 joint Franco-East German film production directed by Raymond Rouleau with a screenplay adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre from the 1953 play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. Plot 1692, Salem, Massachusetts. John Proctor is the only member in the town's assembly who resists the attempts of the rich to gain more wealth at the expense of the poor farmers, thus incurring the wrath of deputy governor Danforth. Proctor's sternly puritanical wife, Elizabeth, is sick and has not shared his bed for months, and he was seduced by his maid, Abigail. When he ends his affair with her, Abigail and several other local girls turn to slave Tituba. Reverend Parris catches the girls in the forest as they partake in what appears to be witchcraft. Abigail and the rest deny it, saying that they have been bewitched. A wave of hysteria engulfs the town, and Danforth uses the girls' accusations to instigate a series of trials, during which his political enemies are accused of heresy and executed. When Abigail blames Elizabeth Proctor, the latter rejects John's pleas to defraud Abigail as an adulteress. Eventually, both Proctors are put on trial and refuse to sign a confession. The townspeople rebel, but not before John is hanged with other defendants; his pregnant wife has been spared. Elizabeth tells the angry crowd to let Abigail live. Cast Simone Signoret as Elizabeth Proctor Yves Montand as John Proctor Chantal Gozzi as Fancy Proctor Mylène Demongeot as Abigail Williams Alfred Adam as Thomas Putnam Françoise Lugagne as Jane Putnam Raymond Rouleau as Thomas Danforth Pierre Larquey as Francis Nurse Marguerite Coutan-Lambert as Rebecca Nurse Jean Debucourt as Samuel Parris Darling Legitimus as Tituba Michel Piccoli as James Putnam Gerd Michael Henneberg as Joseph Herrick Yves Brainville as John Hale Pascale Petit as Mary Warren Véronique Nordey as Mercy Lewis Jeanne Fusier-Gir as Martha Corey Jean Gaven as Peter Corey Aribert Grimmer as Giles Corey Alexandre Rignault as Samuel Willard Pâquerette (Marguerite Jeanne Martine Puech) as Sarah Good Gérard Darrieu as Ezekiel Cheever François Joux as Judge Sabine Thalbach as Kitty Ursula Körbs as Wollit Hans Klering as Field Production Jean-Paul Sartre began writing the script in late 1955, during what author David Caute defined as "the height of his rapprochement with the Soviet Union".